UK traders are emerging as the most financially disciplined, risk-aware, and profitable cohort globally, outperforming their peers in Europe and Middle East North Africa (MENA), with the highest share of profitable accounts, the largest average deposits, and being nearly three times less likely to face a margin call, according to new data from Capital.com.
The findings, based on trading activity between May 2023 and May 2025, highlight a maturing UK retail trading landscape, defined by older, wealthier traders, who are also more diversified, with greater exposure to multiple markets, according to figures from the high-growth global trading platform and fintech group whose trading volumes surpassed USD$1.7trn in 2024.
Key findings include:
- Risk management excellence: UK traders use stop-loss tools in nearly 25% of trades, about 1.6x higher than in MENA (15.6%).
- UK retail traders are also ~3× less likely to hit margin calls than MENA peers with only 1.7% of UK trades forcibly closed from margin calls, much lower than 5.4% in MENA.
- UK retail traders show the highest share of profitable accounts globally. Nearly 29% of UK clients end with a positive realised P&L, the highest share among regions (vs 27% Europe, 15% MENA).
- Financial firepower: UK clients have the highest average deposit size globally at $18,913, and the highest median deposit at $1,526, indicating more consistent funding levels compared to traders in MENA and Europe with median deposit levels of $550 and $559, respectively.
- Market diversification improves with age: 79% of Zoomers trade 2 or more markets, compared with 83% of boomers who trade 2+ markets.
- While boomers make up just 5% of the UK cohort, they have the highest share of profitable trades (63% of trades opened by boomers closed with profit).
- Tech-focused strategy: Across all age groups, the Nasdaq 100 is the most traded market, reflecting a strong appetite for growth and innovation-led equities.
- Education drives returns: UK traders who engage with educational and news content have 60% profitable positions vs. 45% for non-readers.
- Yet, only 0.6% of users read 10 or more news items, highlighting the impact of research and information on trading successfully
- Geographic spread: While London accounts for 34% of UK clients, significant trading activity is also seen in the South East (11.7%), North West (9.9%), and West Midlands (9.0%). This regional distribution highlights that, while London remains the epicentre of UK trading, the UK as a whole continues to be a leading global centre for financial traders, supported by high trading volumes, sophisticated clients, and a robust financial ecosystem.
The data also reveals that UK traders have a larger share of ‘whale’ traders compared to Europe. The share of UK traders depositing $1m is 0.16% vs Europe’s 0.03%. But MENA leads on this front with 0.31% of MENA clients making a single deposit of $1m.
Rupert Osborne, CEO, Capital.com UK, said, “Our data shows that – UK traders are striking an excellent balance between risk and discipline. Nearly one in four trades by UK clients are protected with a stop loss, and this figure climbs to over 66% among the oldest cohort, underlining a strong culture of risk management. We also see clear evidence that information is key to better trading: UK traders who regularly engage with our news and insights achieve a 60% profitable position rate, which is 15 percentage points higher than those who do not.
“What sets UK traders apart is their maturity and approach to diversification. Older clients in particular are more likely to trade multiple markets – over 83% of Boomers do so, and they consistently maintain the highest average deposits, reflecting both financial firepower and a thoughtful, strategic outlook. These behaviours, combined with a strong uptake of educational resources and risk controls, validate the UK’s long-standing reputation as one of the world’s most sophisticated and responsible trading communities.”
